Progress
As the- Editor
Views the News
.Rabbi Akiba's Love an
Revolt of Bar Kokhba
A 'Two-Story House
• Israel's Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett
views the United Jewish Appeal and the Is-
rael bond drive as a "two-story house." He
made a logical presentation of the case
when,' in an address before the Council of
Organizations of the UJA in New York, he
stated:
THE LAST REVOLT—The Story of Rabbi Akiba.
Joseph Opatoshu. Translated from the Yiddish by 114
Spiegel, Philadelphia, Pa- The Jewish Publication Society
America.
"We must build a two-story house. I call
the United Jewish Appeal the ground floor.
Through the UJA you do things which are
absolutely vital and elementary. You sink
money in the land and in the soul of Israel.
You build up a new soul and character. of the
people. On that you expect no returns, yet
you create new life for the country and the
people.
"In the second story, you proceed to bring
into bring one after another, methods of long-
range production. And it is there where we
spend the money which we get from the sale
of Israel bonds on which we issue interest. It
is useless to start building a second story
without first building the first story. We still
must strengthen the very foundation of our
work through the United Jewish Appeal."
This analysis will remain logical provid-
ed there is a safe stairway from the ground
floor to the upper story. There must -be no
loose wires, no weak boards. leading from
one idea to the other. There must be no
stumbling blocks on the passage way be-
tween floors, no faltering as we move from
one obligation to another.
But there have been such obstacles, and
in some communities there has been confu-
sion. Before very long we shall be faced
with another year's challenges in the fund-
raising and investment areas. American
Jewry must be prepared to respond to both
calls. Therefore all obstacles must be re-
moved.
There is an old French saying: "Better
stumble once than be always tottering." Mr.
Sharett has outlined a plan of action which
should be acceptable to all American Jews,
leading towards eliminating unnecessary
obstacles. Then we may hope to function
in a peaceful and progressive two-story
house.
The Arab Boycott
A Christian, Science Monitor report from
Beirut states that there is a frank admission,
by Arab leaders, including Sami Bey Solh,
Lebanon's Premier, that the anti-Israel boy-
cott has injured Arab economies. Neverthe-
less, the Premier of Lebanon is quoted as
reiterating that the boycott is the Arabs'
only weapon against the Jews and that it
will not be lifted unless Israel agrees to
move into boundaries originally outlined in
the United Nations partition plan. in addi-
tion to compensating the Arab refugees for
their lost properties. The Monitor's corre-
spondent makes this observation:
"Arab willingness to admit that the situa-
tion—political and economic—is beginning to
hurt is something new on the Arab scene. No
careful observer would dare call such signs any
more than straws in the wind, though they
possibly might be the first public signs of a
long-term trend toward an Arab-Jewish settle-
ment which Arab leaders still publicly deny."
We consider this a realistic comment on
the existing situation. But in the meantime
radio broadcasts quote the Arab League's
Secretary General Azzam Pasha as stating
that steps are being taken to prevent trade
between Israel and Libya and that the Arabs
are not contemplating peace with Israel.
Peace would benefit the Arab states as
well as Israel and sound. judgment should
dictate speedy embracement of amity. But
the inconsistencies that are evident in Arab
action do not indicate early accord. A long
struggle is in evidence before all obstacles to
genuine good will are removed, especially in
view of the fact that Israel is established in
her present boundary lines which can not
be abandoned if the young state is to retain
an independent economic existence.
The Vatican Sues Israel
Pope Pius' highest ranking representative in Israel,
Msgr. Anthony Virgani, and the Rev. Fr. Leo A. Rudloff
of the Church of Dormition on Mount Zion, have -brought
suit in Haifa against Israel's custody over German property,
charging that the Catholic church has been prevented from
selling certain of its property on the ground that it was
German-owned.
The report from Jerusalem to the New York Times,
by . Dana Adams Schmidt, points to the raising of a test
issue which may involve - the Church of Dormition's 500
acres of farmlands at Tabigha on the shores of Lake Tib-
erias from which the Benedictine monks who occupy the
church derive their income. Fr. Rudloff., who is an Ameri-
can citizen, asserted that the property in question, includ-
ing several Haifa shops, was registered during the British
mandate as the possession of the "archepiscopal see of
Cologne, which is entirely a creation of the Vatican," and
that the properly is therefore Catholic and not German-
owned.
Dormition Church's history dates back to the presenta-
tion of the site by Kaiser Wilhelm II to the German Catho-
lic Society of the Holy Land in 1918. Forty German monks
occupied it before the war.
Pursuing a policy of fairness towards all faiths, an of-
ficial of the Israel Ministry of Church Affairs stated that
his government is willing to make "adequate compensation
for the property of the Dormition Church, as it did in the
case of Lutheran church property, in spite of this being
"unquestionably German property tinder the terms of Is-
raeli law." He added that "the best authorities we have
consulted say that the church contention that there is an
overriding Vatican ownership does not apply."
But Catholic experts claim that this case has inter-
national significance, applying to countries like Palestine
under the League of Nations mandate and to Israel, which
have no law requiring property to be registered in the name
of a locally organized public, body.
This test case is one of the inevitable results of state-
hood and of the acquistion by Israel of property belonging
to the arch-enemy: Germany. , In view of Israel's readiness
to make "adequate compensation" in all instances involving
religious claims, the Catholic suit undoubtedly will be set-
tled amicably. There will, in the course of time, be suits
involving Arabs who have fled the land, abandoning their
property. Israel has given assurances that there will be
proper compensation to all former-owners.
While, at the moment, a test case is disconcerting, it
cannot be viewed as a major issue as long as the new state
is on record as ready to render justice in matters of re-
ligion, the property of religious groups and the rights of
minorities.
Boston Jewish Advocate: 50
The Jewish News joins in extending greetings to the
Boston Jewish Advocate on its 50th anniversary.
Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle
The continuous publishing of an English-Jewish weekly
commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
for a half century mirrors the courage of its sponsors who
Member: American Association of Englisb Jewish News-
papers. Michigan Press Association.
have had to overcome many obstacles until they have helped
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing
establish the need of an English-Jewish preis in this country.
Co. 708.10 David Stott Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich., WO. 5-1355.
Subscription S4 a year; foreign $5.
Durins, the last 35 years of its service, the Jewish Ad-
Entered as second class matter Aug. 6. 1942 at Post Office,
Detroit. Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879.
vocate hasbeen
under the editorship of Dr. Alexander Brin.
e'
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
Together with his. brother, the late Dr. Joseph Brin, the
SIDNEY SHMARAK, Advertising Manager
present managing editor, Joseph Weisberg, and their asso-
FRANK sImoNS, City Editor
ciates, have produced a good newspaper and are in the
Vol. XXI—No. 18
Page 4
July 11, 1952
forefront of creative effort in Jewish journalism.
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
The Boston Jewish Advocate has demonstrated that a
This Sabbath, the nineteenth day of Tammuz, strong Jewish press is the best guarantee that our com-
5712, the following Scriptural selections will be munities will pursue creative projects in the process of ad-
lead in our synagogues:
vancing Jewish ideals. It has earned the encomia now being
Pentateuchal portion—Num. 25:10-30:1.
accorded it by the city of Boston and Jewish leaders through-
Prophetical portion –Jer. 1 :1-2:3.
THE JEWISH NEWS
-
Licht Ilensheit, Friday, July II, 7:49
p.m.
Life in 2nd Century Palestine
out the land,
The past helps us understand the prese
and the present can sometimes be used to
- plain the past. Consider, for example, the es
lishment of Israel. We are acquainted with
chain of circumstances and the combination
internal forces which brought about the birth
the state. Still fresh in our minds are the ho
raised by the promise of emancipation in va
ous countries, and subsequently dashed;
transmutation of Jewish values in the Diaspo
the tragic and oppressive sense of homelessn
in many parts of the world. These factorp
derlay the origin and growth of Zionism
resulted in the Jewish state. Many of us m
be astonished to hear that forces in some fash'
resembling these operated also in the seco
century; but a person gifted with imaginati
who understands the present and knows
past, will find no difficulty in seeing the parall
This is what Joseph Opatoshu succeeds i
doing in his latest novel, "The Last Revolt
translated from the Yiddish by Morris Spieg
and _just published by the Jewish Publicatio
Society. On the surface, it is a simple, idyl
love story on .a background of Palestine in t
days immediately preceding the outbreak
the Bar Kokhba revolt. The scholar will re
nine and appreciate the vastness of the a
thor's learning and the astonishing skill whic
enabled him to offer a magnificent descri
Lion of Jewish society of the year 130 C. E., t
details of home life, the everyday tasks an
even the scenery as contemporary eyes behel
it. Familiar names are given body and spirit
Rabbi Meir and his wife Beruria, the bac
lor-mystic Simeon ben Azzai, the thoughtf
weakling Pappias, the scholarly pronely
Aquila. Persuasive contexts are found for f
miliar statements, which thereby add to the
meaning. And beneath all this are matters
greater moment and more profound. signif
cance.
Joseph Opatoshu is a master at the writi
of historical fiction, which means that he
able to personalize the generalizations whi
one uses to explain a historical movement. •
in second-century Palestine, as Opatoshu d
scribes it, consisted of numerous conflicts:
tween old and young, between Galileans
Judeans, between Jewish nationalists and
similationists to Rome, between traditionali
and adherents of the then new-tangled religi
of Jesus of Nazareth. Opatoshu's characters
lustrate these conflicts and make clearer th
any historical description possibly could why
how that generation was driven to such desp
as to take up arms against the legions .
mighty Rome.
Opatoshu weaves all these strands into
simple and touching love story between a you
man of aristocratic Jewish family and
daughter of Rabbi Akiba, the former shephe
who was laying the foundations for a new ty
of Jewish aristocracy, of intellect and spiritu
attainments. Akiba, the majestic sage, stands o
like a mighty oak representing the strength
deep-rootedness of Judaism. The turbulence
well as the flavor of that period is thus Iran
mitted in this novel and, although Bar Kokh
himself appears only at the very end, the shad
of the Last Revolt grows longer throughout.
The Fast of Tammuz
The Fast of Tammuz—Shivah Asar b'Tamm
—the 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tamm
which this year occurred on July 10, is one
the four fasts which, according to the Proph
Zechariah (8.19), are in the future to be turn
into days of joy. The destruction of Jew
nationhood in 586 B.C.E. by the Babylonian's
commemorated by all the fasts referred to.
The Fast of Tammuz marks -the breaki
through Jerusalem's walls by the enemy
attacked the Holy City. Jerusalemites held o
for a year and a half. But when food was
hausted, it became impossible to hold out t
stubborn fight against the Babylonians who e
tered the city. Carnage followed and there w
fighting within for another three weeks.
Tisha b'Ab the Temple was destroyed.
Facts You Should Know:
Is it forbidden for a Jew to have
on his skin?
a "tatto
Etching a tattoo on one's skin is express
forbidden in the Bible (Lev. 19:28) where
says: "Ye shall not make any cuttings in yo
flesh for the dead, nor imprint any marks upo:
you. I am the Lord." This is taken by the co
mentaries to expressly outlaw the art of to
ing upon the skin of a Jew. It is believed b
some that a tattoo was originally the sign use
to brand one with eternal symbols of servitud
to idols. Some conceive of the notion that . ta
toeing itself might have been a form of idol- wo
ship. Some conceive. of the notion that tatto
ing is a matter of, mutilating part of the livin
body and Mutilating. any part of the bodi
strictly forbiddan. -
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